Herr Mike in Deutschland

Yesterday we went to Munich for the 2006 Oktoberfest, the biggest beer festival in the world!

It was different to what I had expected, I assumed there would just be beer tents but there were huge rollercoasters, ferris wheels, restaraunts, everything, it was huge!!

With hindsight we chose the wrong day to go, the last Saturday of the two week event is always the busiest and it was absolutely packed. We took a train at six in the morning, arriving in Munich at around 9 and getting to the fest slightly afterwards. Our attempts at beating the crowds were in vain however, as the beer tents and gardens were full when we got there, with thousands of people drinking litres of beer before 10am. I couldn't believe it.

There were people from all over the world there, with a strong Italian contingent, revelling in their World Cup victory in Germany. The natives were unimpressed. There were lots of Indian and Chinese people too, though most of these were passed out on the grassy verges by midday, obviously not used to the strong beer. Most people don't realise that the breweries use a special brew for the festival. This 'Fest Bier' is stronger than the stuff you get in pubs, and can be up to 8%. Sold only in litre glasses (called Krugs) it is a lethal combination if you can't take your ale.

We eventually managed to get a beer and sat in the sun at the foot of the huge statue of lady bavaria which watches over the park. You can climb up inside the gigantic sculpture and the view in the picture above was actually taken from the viewing hole in her head. I will post some more pictures, including lady bavaria, and me with some bavarian ladies, when I get the images from Helen's camera later.

It was a good atmosphere, with lots of men in lederhosen and girls in traditional 'Dirndl' dresses. We went on a few rides and relaxed before leaving the fest to head into Munich city centre. There we went to the famous 'Hofbrauhaus' which is basically a huge pub. The girls did some shopping while Matt, Norman and I had a few drinks with some cool american people, listened to the live music and enjoyed the great atmosphere which had spilled over from the fest.

It was a great experience and I'm really glad I can say that I have been.

We left quite early in the evening to get back, again trying to be the rush but without success. The train was so packed when we got there it couldn't move and was delayed for over an hour. We didn't even attempt to get on it and opted to sneak onto the ICE Train, the expensive first class version which was completely empty. We were soon ejected though!

Though Germany's bus and road systems are second to none the rail network leaves a little to be desired in my opinion. There are always delays and cancellations which can be really annoying. I cannot believe they didn't put more trains on for the Oktoberfest, they knew that an incredible volume of people would be descending on the city. In England it just wouldn't happen. Someone would stop people getting on when the train was that full. We commented that it was really dangerous and unfortunately we were proved right. A sour note was given to the day when an ambulance appeared inside the station and came right on to the platform. We later found out that a lady in her 50s had died on the train from a heart attack, presumably because of the heat caused by the crush and probably too much alcohol.

Luckily we were not forced to fight for a place aboard theaforementioned regional train. The genius that is Norman persuaded the ticket officers that we had a plane to catch in Nuremburg and they upgraded us to the ICE free of charge. It was luxurious, super quick and empty. It should have been used for more people.

Overall I had a really good day, Munich is a cool city and I would like to go back to have a proper look round. Look out for the pics of the day, I will post them as soon as I can.